“Ebirah, Horror of the Deep” (also known as “Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster”) is the seventh instalment in the “Godzilla” franchise. Some people do not seem to care for this entry but I think it is fine. This is a fun cheesy monster movie.

A group of men steal a boat when one of them goes to search for his brother. The ship is soon attacked by Ebirah, a large sea creature, and the group are left shipwrecked on a mysterious island. On the island they discover a secretive organisation that is constructing nuclear weapons and they also find a slumbering Godzilla.

The human characters are okay but I think the opening scenes that bring the main characters together come across as rather forced. It would have been nice if they could have come up with a more logical explanation for them all getting on a ship together but maybe I’m expecting too much from a film where a giant dinosaur fights a giant crab. The villains are perfectly acceptable for this sort-of movie. It’s great to see Godzilla and Ebirah fighting. Interestingly, this film was originally set to star King Kong as the main monster but the decision was made to have Godzilla instead. Mothra also has a small appearance and there is also a giant bird that appears in one scene. It’s a shame Mothra is not in more of the movie.

“Ebirah, Horror of the Deep” is a fun film. The special effects are good, the set design is rather impressive and the battle between Godzilla and Ebirah is very amusing. The scene where Godzilla fights the giant bird is pretty poorly filmed, it might even be the worst battle in a “Godzilla” movie considering it is so hard to see what is going on but the Ebirah fight makes up for it. I also wish that Godzilla showed up a little earlier. It has its flaws but I’m still recommending this one.